


Blameless

by acidquill



Category: The OC
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Off-screen Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-10
Updated: 2013-06-10
Packaged: 2017-12-14 12:15:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/836761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acidquill/pseuds/acidquill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sandy tries to be a good guy. Some days, with some kids, it's enough. Sometimes it isn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blameless

**Author's Note:**

> a bit of trope-ish au for the pilot. originally posted Nov 29 2011.

It’s late afternoon by the time they hit Chino. Ryan directs him through the tangle of streets with disinterest. Sandy’s seen that face on too many kids, too many times before.  
  
The house he pulls up to looks pretty much like he expects, and he knows he should see Ryan inside, just to make sure. Of, well, a hell of a lot of things. Most of the kids he sees come from places like this, and Sandy can almost predict what’ll be on the other side of the door. He should go in.  
  
Ryan’s determined he won’t. Swears that everything’s fine, _he’s_ fine. _You can go, Mr. Cohen._  
  
Sandy thinks of Kirsten at home, the ache that settles in when the two of them are out of sync. Just this once, he concedes. Ryan’s a good kid. If he needs anything, he’ll call. And in a few days, if Sandy hasn’t heard anything, he’ll check up on how things are going.  
  
He says goodbye, pretends not to notice how relieved the kid looks at the realisation Sandy is leaving. He still watches Ryan disappear into the house before he pulls away. On the drive back, Sandy turns up the radio and tries to ignore the uneasy feeling in his gut.  
  
Kirsten has take-out and a glass of wine waiting when he gets home. She kisses him on the cheek, rests her head on his shoulder. _I’m sorry, Sandy_. He wishes for the hundredth time they could find a way to make the situation work. Seth won’t look either of them in the eye.   
  
Two days later he gets a call at the office. There’s a bored sounding hospital operator at the other end of the line asking about ‘next of kin’ and ‘personal effects.’ Sandy’s only being notified because his card was in the kid’s pocket - and there’s no one else. He drops the phone.  
  
Sandy walks to the elevator, ignores the secretary’s worried questions. He’s going home. There’s a bottle of twelve year old scotch in the back of the cabinet over the stove; it was a ‘gift’ from Caleb. Sandy plans to crack it open and get very, very drunk.  


End file.
